Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 3

A psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.

¹⁹ So Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not allowing any of his words to fail. ²⁰ All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was trustworthy as the Lord’s prophet. ²¹ The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh because the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh through the Lord’s own word.

4 And Samuel’s word went out to all Israel.

The Philistines capture God’s chest

In those days the Philistines gathered for war against Israel,^[a] so Israel went out to engage the Philistines in war. Israel camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. ² The Philistines readied themselves to fight Israel. When the battle was joined, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield.

Judgment for intentional sin

²⁶ If we make the decision to sin after we receive the knowledge of the truth, there isn’t a sacrifice for sins left any longer. ²⁷ There’s only a scary expectation of judgment and of a burning fire that’s going to devour God’s opponents. ²⁸ When someone rejected the Law from Moses, they were put to death without mercy on the basis of the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much worse punishment do you think is deserved by the person who walks all over God’s Son, who acts as if the blood of the covenant that made us holy is just ordinary blood, and who insults the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ We know the one who said,

And he also said,

³¹ It’s scary to fall into the hands of the living God!